UK scientists use AI on 1.6 million brain scans to predict dementia early

Using CT and MRI scans collected from Scotland for over a decade, AI and Machine Learning will now analyze the images and their linked health records to find patterns that will empower doctors with the ability to determine a patient’s dementia risk, as The Guardian reports, as numbers continue to rise worldwide and have put substantial pressure on health care systems.  

“Dementia is one of the major social and medical issues in an aging society,” says Dr. Teiji Kimura, Ph.D., Academia and Industry Alliance Officer, Deep Human Biology Learning (DHBL) Office of Eisai. “We aim to create new digital solutions that will contribute to solving the challenges of dementia.”

New digital solutions for dementia could alleviate a trillion-dollar problem

With 55 million people in the world living with dementia, one million alone in the UK, and 10 million cases added every year, the trillion-dollar impact of the disease on the health and social care system has led leading researchers to turn to AI and Machine Learning to improve earlier detection and diagnosis to make a real-world impact, as per an official announcement.

“AI and other advanced technologies are beginning to play a powerful role in medical research,” said Dr. Niranjan Bose, Managing Director of Health & Life Sciences at Gates Ventures. “I’m excited about how the NEURii collaboration will apply these tools to diagnostics research and drug discovery, and contribute to breakthroughs that can improve life for millions of people suffering with dementia and dementia-related illnesses.”

“Identifying ways to prevent dementia and neurodegenerative disease is a key part of our multi-million pound neurodegeneration program’ says Paul Wright, MND Translational Challenge Lead at LifeArc. “‘This collaboration is one of many new innovative projects we are involved in to improve the diagnosis of dementia and a positive step towards predicting those who may develop the disease.”

NEURi’s novel approach combines the pioneering health data that the UK has collected as a world leader in health data science with the expertise of NEURii collaborators to formulate. It will “provide an exciting launch-pad for new transformational digital products that can contribute to solving the ongoing challenges of dementia and neurodegenerative conditions.”

BBC reports that the researchers don’t know what they’re looking for as nothing has been done before quite like this, but the goal is to identify patterns that relate to dementia using AI and Machine Learning. However, even if they don’t have the full picture, impressively, they should be able to still make predictions, a NEURii representative stated.  

Big data set will make big impact for patient’s first

A deep understanding of the disease aided by the large data set will spawn lost cost, globally scalable brain tech solutions to predict and monitor the disease that will benefit doctors, patients, and families as their governing philosophy hinges upon “a human health care concept,” as stated in the official announcement. Eisai, one of the partners on the NEURii project, in particular, brings extensive experience to the collective in delivering innovative neurological treatments that put patients first.  

As early as next year, NEURii’s will have a better understanding of what the technology’s potential could be, according to BBC. However, it will take another few years to develop a useable product specifically geared towards detection, prevention, and new treatments which will hopefully alleviate a heavy burden on patients and caregivers alike in the near future.

“Currently treatments for dementia are expensive, scarce and of uncertain value. If we can collect data from a large group of people at high risk, who then give their consent to take part in trials, we can really start to develop new treatments,” project co-leader, Prof Will Whiteley from Edinburgh’s Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences concludes in The Guardian.